Can a Parent Emancipate a Child in New York?

Full question:

My son turned 18 in Feb.of this year, he quit school at 17, and has no intensions of returning. He now has a job making over 400.00 per week, but still lives at home. Can I start court proceedings to have him emancipated, so that my child support payments will end, and if so what do I have to do to accomplish this? I live in Nassau County and my ex wife lives in Suffolk County where the divorce was granted.

• Category: Minors
• Subcategory: Emancipation of Minor
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: New York

Answer:

The age of majority in the state of New York is 18 which means that persons who attain the age of 18 are treated as adults in most ways (with the commonly known exception for the purchase of alcohol).

Persons under the age of 18 are considered minors. In order to be considered emancipated, a minor must be able to support herself. Moving into a residence apart from parents alone does not qualify as emancipated.

The State of New York does not have an emancipation statute available or a court proceeding to remove the disability of minority. Rather, the status of a youth will turn on the specific facts of the case. In order to become emancipated, the minor must typically live independently and be self-supporting. Because New York does not have an emancipation statute, it is a matter for the court to decide based on the facts and circumstances in each case.

According to caselaw, in the State of New York "emancipation" has been defined as the renunciation of parental rights to a child. Also a minor is considered emancipated he or she is married, he or she is in the armed services, he or she has established a home and is financially independent, or his or her parent has failed to fulfill parental support obligations and the minor seeks emancipation. If a minor establishes independence from parents, a petition for emancipation may be filed in the surrogate's court in the county where the minor resides.

When a divorce decree is issued by a court, that court retains jurisdiction to modify its order. A court may grant a motion for a modification of a divorce decree when the parties consent to the modification or when a significant change of circumstances justifies the modification. Certain aspects of the decree are modifiable, while others are not. The property division is not modifiable by the court. It is final. Child custody may be modified if there is a significant change of circumstances. The court's decision to grant a modification is based on the best interests of the child. A motion and petition are generally the same thing, they are formals requests to the court for something. If granted, the court will issue an order. When the order is made, the requests in the motion/petition become enforceable. It may be possible to petition for a modification in child support based on a significant change of circumstances, but in order to find emancipation, the child typically must have the ability to live independently, rather than residing at home.